What new benefits are there for the disability pension?
If you can no longer work or can only work to a limited extent due to a chronic illness or accident, you may receive a disability pension from the statutory pension insurance under certain conditions. If the pension was approved before 1 July 2014, it was calculated as if the person concerned had been employed until the age of 60 with their previous average income (so-called credit period according to § 59 SGB VI).
On 1 July 2014, there were two positive changes for early retirees:
(1) For disability pensions approved since 1 July 2014, the credit period has been extended from age 60 to age 62. The pension is therefore calculated as if the person had worked until the age of 62. This results in a slightly higher pension.
(2) In addition to the duration of the credit period, the amount of earnings is also important for the disability pension. Previously, this period was calculated with the average income. Since 1 July 2014, the last four years before the onset of the disability are no longer taken into account if the salary had already decreased due to health problems. This means that giving up overtime or switching to part-time work no longer has a negative impact on the amount of the pension.
Unfortunately, people who were already receiving a disability pension on 1 July 2014 do not benefit from the improved disability pension. Existing pensions are not recalculated. The new regulation only applies to disability pensions newly approved from 1 July 2014. The deductions for disability pensions of up to 10.8% remain unchanged.
From 1 January 2018, the credit period for the disability pension for new pension approvals has been gradually extended from age 62 to age 65 (§ 59 SGB VI).
- For pensions starting in 2018, the credit period ends at the age of 62 years and 3 months according to the previous legal situation.
- For pensions starting in 2019, the credit period is extended in one step to the age of 65 years and 8 months.
- For pensions starting between 2020 and 2031, the credit period - like the retirement age - is gradually extended to the age of 67. The gradual extension begins in 2020 with an increase of one month. The steps of the increase are also one month per calendar year until 2027. From 2028, the credit period will be increased by two months per calendar year.
- For pensions starting from 2031, the credit period ends at the age of 67.
